Communication Skills Every Sales Professional Needs

Practice active listening

You may be listening but are you actively listening? By actively listening you allow the conversation to progress and makes prospects feel heard. Instead of waiting for an opportunity to jump into your pitch or quickly defend an objection with your battle card, take a moment to think about what your prospect is saying. When actively listening to sales reps should be asking relevant follow-up questions, using the prospects words in your conversation and using short affirmations like “I understand” or “I see.”

Reading between the lines

Reading between the lines is huge for sales reps. Often time prospects won’t always tell you the entire truth about a situation. Is your lead actually not the buyer but a step in the process? Is your prospect only meeting with you to understand what’s out there? Being able to spot when this is happening and finding out the right information about your client is a crucial communication skill.

Be an Expert

Though this may seem like an obvious one, it is more than just knowing about your product or service. If you have a specific target industry, you should know all the in’s and out’s, concerns, and buying patterns they have. By being an expert in your prospect’s industry, you instantly become more trustworthy which makes them more likely to do business with you.